Black School Employee Files Hair Discrimination Suit in Charlotte

A Black school employee in North Carolina says that her white colleagues humiliated her regarding her natural hair.

Kimberly Tigner, who works as a career development liaison for the Career and Technical Education Department at Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, told The Charlotte Observer that she is suing the district for discrimination.

The school district asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit because Tigner could not specify “official policy, practice or custom of institutional discrimination.” The employee filed against the dismissal bid on July 31.

In the complaint obtained by the publication, Tigner states she experienced “racially-motivated criticism and bullying” by one of her supervisors. The supervisor circulated a petition with signatures of other white colleagues indicating that her natural hair was “unprofessional” and inappropriate for the workplace,” according to the complaint, which was amended in May. The petition also stated that the supervisor who circulated the petition said that she has…

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